First came the God particle, the Higgs boson. Then came “Ice Age” (2002). Then, “Ice Age: The Meltdown” (2006). Then “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” (2009). And now arrives “Ice Age: Continental Drift,” informally known as “Ice Age 4,” also known as a paycheck and a likely haul for all involved at Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox.

The new picture contains a valuable lesson in recycling. It opens with what I believe is a slightly abridged version of “Scrat’s Continental Crack-Up,” the “Ice Age” short Fox showed in front of the Jack Black “Gulliver’s Travels” two years ago. Preteens might not know the word “rerun,” since it belongs to B.C. (before cable) days of yore, but it’s time they learned it.

Another chunk of “Ice Age 4,” with the key characters getting thrashed in the waves, is a recycling job as well, footage from a short preceding “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.” You know what I feel like doing right now? I feel like digging out an old review of an earlier “Ice Age” movie and “re-purposing” it, which will give me time to go do something else for a few minutes, like mow the lawn or water the lawn. Or bake a crumble.